Tami Fox

Living Room Monday – Getting Organized

Posted on September 28, 2015 by Tami

Getting Organized in Your Home and Homeschool

This week we are going to spend some time sprucing up our living rooms. With the change in seasons, this is a great time to declutter in the living room and add some fall decor. I have a story to share with you from last week in y decluttering missions in my master bedroom.

Even though I have been FLYing for a long time, I still do projects in my Zones. My clothes all fit in the drawers and closet, but I still purge when we work in the Master Bedroom. This week I found a camouflage vest that I cut out for my son at least 10 years ago. He’s grown a lot since then, but it was the right size for my current 9-year-old. Yesterday, I sewed it up for him. He is so happy, and I got one more thing out of my room. I also put my quilting stuff in a plastic bin and put it in the top of my closet. I usually do some quilting in the winter, so it is accessible when I am ready to use it.

This week we will be working in two zones. If you are working in these areas already, just keep doing what you are doing. If you are not currently working in these zones, I would like for you to spend at least 5 minutes a day working in them.

Here’s what I have down for the zones this week:

Monday – Zone 5 – Living Room – Clear off Hot Spots on your flat surfaces. You want to be able to dust your living room quickly during the weekly home blessing hour.

Set your timer for 15 minutes for the Home Assignment and 15 minutes for the School Assignment

Home:

Make Your Bed (Do this as soon as you get up.)
Get Dressed Down to Your Shoes
Swish and Swipe
Start Your Laundry
Decide on Dinner
Check Your Calendar
Start the Day off with a Shiny Sink. Don’t leave the breakfast dishes sitting.

Weekly Home Blessing Hour:

Spread these out over the course of the week. Put a note on each day of the week with one or two of these per day.

7 Parts of the Weekly Home Blessing Hour from The FlyLady:

Quick Dust
Sweep/Mop
Purge Magazines or Paper Clutter
Change Bedding
Empty Trash
Clean Windows/Mirrors
Vacuum

School:

Have you been on a field trip yet this year? If not, it’s time to start planning one. Look at your topic of studies, and then pick a field trip that goes along with it. Field trips are a great way for your children to cement what they have been learning into their memories.

Afternoon Routine:

Eat Lunch
Clear off One Hot Spot
Reboot the Laundry
Declutter for 15 Minutes (Be sure to have your children declutter, too.)
Drink Your Water

Family Fun: Have some outdoor time with your children today. Play. Do some nature journaling. The point is to add some movement to your day.

Before Bed: (This starts right after dinner.)

Check the Calendar for Tomorrow
Lay out Your Clothes for Tomorrow (Have your children lay their clothes out, too.)
Lay anything out that you will need first thing in the morning
Shine Your Sink
Clean Off a Hot Spot
Go to Bed at Decent Hour

Toss It Friday – Getting Organized

Posted on September 25, 2015 by Tami

Getting Organized: In your home and homeschool

It’s time to toss those old shoes in your closet and under your bed. Our Convenience Center, where we haul off trash and recycle items, also has a bin for shoes and clothing. By the time we are ready to toss a pair of shoes, they are usually past use by anyone. I like that we have an option to recycle them. My goal is to toss 2 pair of shoes per person in my house this week. That will get rid of 12 pairs of shoes. Spend 15 minutes going through your bedrooms and toss out old shoes. If you have some fairly new shoes that no one is wearing, donate them. We are on our way to simplifying our lives by getting rid of clutter. You will be more successful in decluttering if you take it a small step at a time. That way you aren’t going to burn-out from doing a massive purging project in a day or two.

Our school week has been great as well. We have learned about Japan. We also studied the following topics:

Map (globe, map, Google Earth view)
Demographics
Language
Flag
Alphabet & Numbers (Thank you, YouTube!)
Talked about the economics of Japan (We recognized the names of a lot of manufacturers.)

We have enjoyed our cultural studies this year. Next week, we will be studying South Korea. I will work up our menu plan tomorrow.

Home:

Make Your Bed (Do this as soon as you get up.)
Get Dressed Down to Your Shoes Swish and Swipe Start Your Laundry
Decide on Dinner
Check Your Calendar
Start the Day off with a Shiny Sink. Don’t leave the breakfast dishes sitting.

School: Time for FUN FRIDAY! Look at the weather report for Sunday. It will be a fantastic night to view the moon and see a Lunar Eclipse.

Afternoon Routine:

Eat Lunch
Clear off One Hot Spot
Reboot the Laundry
Declutter for 15 Minutes (Be sure to have your children declutter, too.)
Drink Your Water

Zone Focus: Master Bedroom – I assigned a task at the beginning of this email. Declutter two pair of shoes per person in your household.

Family Fun: Play a game with your children today.

Before Bed: (This starts right after dinner.)

Check the Calendar for Tomorrow
Lay out Your Clothes for Tomorrow (Have your children lay their clothes out, too.)
Put things at your launch pad
Shine Your Sink Clean Off a Hot Spot
Go to Bed at Decent Hour

Declutter Your Closet Thursday – Getting Organized

Posted on September 24, 2015 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

Today, I want you to spend 15 minutes decluttering clothes from your closet. For most women, the closet is a hot spot in and of itself. You have more than one season of clothes. You have multiple sizes of clothes —

Your goal clothes for you are skinny again
Your clothes that are too big
Your clothes that fit but you don’t really like them

Then you have a few outfits that you really like that make you feel good when you wear them. So why are you hanging on to the rest of the clothes that don’t fit or don’t make you feel pretty?

I watched a video today that really spoke to me about my closet. I am going to purpose to thin down the amount of clothes in my closet AND in my storage area for off-season clothes. I want you to take a few minutes to watch it, too.

Your assignment is to get rid of at least three things in your closet that do not fit. If you can get rid of more than that, then do it. Just set your timer and have a box or bag handy to toss things into. I just donated a big black trash bag full of clothes to the Goodwill. I even donated old pocketbooks and a pair of boots.

Set your timer for 15 minutes for the Home Assignment and 15 minutes for the School Assignment

Home:

Make Your Bed (Do this as soon as you get up.)
Get Dressed Down to Your Shoes
Swish and Swipe
Start Your Laundry
Decide on Dinner
Check Your Calendar
Start the Day off with a Shiny Sink. Don’t leave the breakfast dishes sitting.

School:

This week we have been learning about Israel. We have enjoyed some great food such as beef ribs and beef brisket. We also made couscous and a dish with carrots and sweet potatoes. It has been interesting to learn about their climate and economics.

Afternoon Routine:

Eat Lunch
Clear off One Hot Spot
Reboot the Laundry
Declutter for 15 Minutes (Be sure to have your children declutter, too.)
Drink Your Water
Zone Focus: Master Bedroom – Declutter clothes from your closet. You can also ask your children to bring you anything that does not fit anymore or that they do not like.

Before Bed: (This starts right after dinner.)

Check the Calendar for Tomorrow
Lay out Your Clothes for Tomorrow (Have your children lay their clothes out, too.)
Put things at your launch pad
Shine Your Sink
Clean Off a Hot Spot
Go to Bed at Decent Hour

Winning Wednesday – Getting Organized

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Tami

Getting Organized in Your Home and Homeschool

My newsletter subscribers are getting a freebie in today’s edition. If you have not signed up for my newsletter, do it now.

Now, on to today’s encouragement, how is your school year going? We are doing a few different things this year, and it is going very well. My 9th grader is using Lifepacs for the first time this year for three subjects (science, history, and language arts). While this is not my preferred method of doing school, he likes having small booklets to work through. He was intimidated by the size of the high school history book and science book. He is using Saxon math with the DVD that teaches the lesson. He’s used Saxon for math for years, so we did not make any changes there.

Our son who is a high school junior is using Ray Stobaugh’s American History, Apologia’s Chemistry, Saxon Math, and his language arts are based on his American history lessons with writing and literature selections. The beauty of homeschooling is that I can buy materials that fit different students.

My hands-on science and history lessons this year are mainly for the 7th grader and 4th grader, but we include the older boys sometimes, too, especially at meal times when we have a “theme dinner and discussion.” Both of the younger boys use Saxon math and DVD’s. My 7th grader is using the Lifepacs for Language Arts. I do language arts with my 4th grader based on our history lessons.

All in all, I am pleased with everything we are using.

Today is anti-procrastination day. What are you putting off? Don’t put it off any more.

Grocery Shopping and Errand Day – Take your list, pack snacks, and water bottles.

Home:

Make Your Bed (Do this as soon as you get up.)
Get Dressed Down to Your Shoes
Swish and Swipe
Start Your Laundry
Decide on Dinner
Check Your Calendar
Start the Day off with a Shiny Sink. Don’t leave the breakfast dishes sitting.

School:

Tell me about your school year. Email me at tami@tamifox.com

Afternoon Routine:

Eat Lunch
Clear off One Hot Spot
Reboot the Laundry
Declutter for 15 Minutes (Be sure to have your children declutter, too.)
Drink Your Water
Zone Focus: Master Bedroom – declutter one dresser drawer.
Errand day: Make your plan for grocery shopping and errands. Pack water bottles and snacks for everyone. Pack up your library books that need to be turned in.

Family Fun: Plan a fun activity while you are out. I am in the habit of checking for free activities that are going on while we are out doing errands.

When you get home from doing errands, have everyone work together to unload and put away everything.

Tutorial Tuesday – Getting Organized

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Tami

Getting Organized in Your Home and Homeschool
Welcome to Tutorial Tuesday! Most of the posts I send out are tutorial in nature. I try to share in a conversational way how I homeschool and keep my house clean at the same time. Over the years, I have had so many questions from homeschool moms on organization, scheduling, and menu planning. I know from being on social media that these are common questions. I want to encourage you that you can homeschool and have and organized home. The key to it is to have routines established in your home for yourself and for your children.

Many of you reading this have small children. While my children are older, I babysit a 3-year-old several days a week, so I am still balancing the needs of a young child while homeschooling. I wrote a post on my blog today as an Open Letter to Moms with Little Children. (https://tamifox.net/2015/09/21/open-letter-to-moms-of-little-ones/ ) I understand the struggle to get it all done when also caring for a young child. It is a short season, even if it does not feel that way at the time.

Below you will see that I share a daily routine for Morning, Afternoon, and Evening. This is to help you develop your own routines. I share about my book and the Homeschool Teacher Control Journal to give you tools to help you organize your home and homeschool.

As I am studying world geography with the boys this year, I try to share pictures and recipes on my blog. Many times, I share things on Facebook throughout the day.

Since I finished writing, Giving Your Children Wings Without Losing Yours, I have started writing two more books that I hope to have ready in the spring of 2016. One of the books is on Finding Joy. The other book is a running book. I am enjoying writing both of these, even they are completely differnt topics.

If you have any homeschool or home organization related questions, please email me. I am on Periscope now and have done my first two Scope broadcasts. Look me up @tami_fox.

Set your timer for 15 minutes for the Home Assignment and 15 minutes for the School Assignment

Home:

Make Your Bed (Do this as soon as you get up.)
Get Dressed Down to Your Shoes
Swish and Swipe
Start Your Laundry
Decide on Dinner
Check Your Calendar
Start the Day off with a Shiny Sink. Don’t leave the breakfast dishes sitting.
Clean out your refrigerator. Toss the science experiments.

School:

Read a book with your children today. If you don’t do this on a regular basis, pick a chapter book and read a chapter a day. Some of our fondest memories are from our reading time together.

Afternoon Routine:

Eat Lunch
Clear off One Hot Spot
Reboot the Laundry
Declutter for 15 Minutes (Be sure to have your children declutter, too.)
Drink Your Water
Write up a menu plan for the next 7 days. Check your pantry and freezer and make a grocery list. This habit will save you time and money. Try out some new recipes with the slow cooker. It will save you time once you start back to your school schedule.
Zone Focus: Zone 4 – The Master Bedroom – Today, spend 5 minutes doing a detail dusting job in your bedroom. Declutter things if you have to clear off surfaces to dust.

Family Fun: Take your children for a walk.

Before Bed: (This starts right after dinner.)

Check the Calendar for Tomorrow
Lay out Your Clothes for Tomorrow (Have your children lay their clothes out, too.)
Put things at the Launch Pad that you will need first thing in the morning
Shine Your Sink
Clean Off a Hot Spot
Go to Bed at Decent Hour

Open Letter to Moms of Little Ones

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Tami

Dear Mama of Little Ones,

Right now your days may seem long, and you nights seem too short. This is a very busy season in your home. Children from birth to age 3 are rapidly learning skills — feeding themselves, crawling, talking, walking, learning cause and effect from dumping things or throwing things. They seem to always be hungry. They are little sponges who soak up the things going on around them. By lunch time, you are spent. You have fed them, dressed them (sometimes more than once), taken them to potty several times (or changed their diaper several times). You have fixed them drinks and fed them a snack. You tried to get the dishes in the dishwasher, but your helper wanted to do something else. You managed to get the laundry switched. Maybe you will get it folded before bedtime. You have played with your little one and read books. You have helped them pick up their toys even though it would be faster if you did it without their help. You wonder if it is time for a nap, but you want to feed them lunch first. Who says you can’t have lunch at 11:00? You find your coffee cup in the microwave. You’ve reheated it three times already, and you still have not had a chance to drink it. You have answered the question WHY almost a thousand times already. You check your calendar to see when story time is at the library. You need a shower. How does anyone get up before their little ones to actually drink their coffee and get a shower? Little ones have a radar. They know when your feet hit the floor in the morning. They wake up ready to get on with the day. They don’t know you need a few minutes to go to the bathroom and wash your face.

You aren’t paid with a paycheck. Your pay comes from sticky hugs and kisses. Your pay comes with giggles and grins. Your pay comes from the love you have with your child. Every day seems to run into the next one. Will your house ever be picked up and clean again? How do other moms do it? You can sing the theme song to several children’s programs. You can recite 10 different children’s stories. You don’t need to see the page anymore. You can tell it from memory. You look at the clock again. Is it still not nap time yet? You desperately want to brush your teeth and your hair, but you still haven’t gotten around to it. Every time you think you will make it to the bathroom, someone needs you. You finally get to the bathroom, and your little helper follows along. You wonder if it’s time to start potty training. You get your teeth brushed finally. Now it’s time for lunch. Oh, look! There’s the breakfast and snack dishes right where you left them. You fix a quick lunch and while the children eat, you try to eat quickly and get the dishes done. You wonder what’s for dinner. Finally, lunch is over (and with it another stack of dirty dishes), and it is time for a nap. You get the little ones down, and now you have a little time to work around the house, but first, you want to squeeze in your shower. You shower quickly. Then you realize that the little ones are awake already. The laundry is still in the dryer. The dishwasher needs to be loaded from lunch and started. You should have started the crock pot before your shower. You know that the next few hours will be busy, so you take a deep breath and dive in. It’s time to play, read, and snuggle. This is time you will never get back again, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

Merry Monday – Getting Organized

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

How can you have a Merry Monday?

Several years ago, Monday morning was not the happiest day of the week for me. With several young children at home, our house fell apart on Sunday. The children would play in the afternoon in between church services, and we did not always work with them to clean up before evening service. This meant that I started Monday morning off behind the ball (sometimes literally!). I started using the FlyLady system for myself, and I started training my children to pick up behind themselves. My evening routine on Sunday night now is to shine my sink, set up my coffee pot, lay out my clothes after checking the calendar, put things at the launch pad that my husband will need for work (I pick up food and water for him to take to work for lunch.), clean off the kitchen counter, and remind the boys to pick up anything they had out to play with during the day. The boys also know to lay out their clothes and brush their teeth while I am doing my evening routine after church. I also will wash a load of towels and put them in the dryer. They are usually dry before I go to bed, but the boys will fold them first thing on Monday morning. Now my Monday mornings are Merry Monday Mornings. Keep working through the tips I send out during the week, and you can, too.

Set your timer for 15 minutes for the Home Assignment and 15 minutes for the School Assignment

Home:

Make Your Bed (Do this as soon as you get up.)
Get Dressed Down to Your Shoes
Swish and Swipe
Start Your Laundry
Decide on Dinner
Check Your Calendar
Start the Day off with a Shiny Sink. Don’t leave the breakfast dishes sitting.

Weekly Home Blessing Hour:

Spread these out over the course of the week. Put a note on each day of the week with one or two of these per day.

7 Parts of the Weekly Home Blessing Hour from The FlyLady:

Quick Dust
Sweep/Mop
Purge Magazines or Paper Clutter
Change Bedding
Empty Trash
Clean Windows/Mirrors
Vacuum

School:

How does your planning notebook look this week? Are you accomplishing your plans? Are you keeping the records you need to keep according to state law?

Afternoon Routine:

Eat Lunch
Clear off One Hot Spot
Reboot the Laundry
Declutter for 15 Minutes (Be sure to have your children declutter, too.)
Drink Your Water

Zone Focus: Master Bedroom: Clear off a Hot Spot in your bedroom. Ask your children to do the same thing in their bedroom.

Family Fun: Go outside with your children and enjoy the weather. It is finally cooling off in the South.

Before Bed: (This starts right after dinner.)

Check the Calendar for Tomorrow
Lay out Your Clothes for Tomorrow (Have your children lay their clothes out, too.)
Lay anything out that you will need first thing in the morning
Shine Your Sink
Clean Off a Hot Spot
Go to Bed at Decent Hour

Fantabulous Friday – Getting Organized

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

Did you notice that I made up a word for today’s subject line? That is how I feel about my life right now. Several friends and family members are going through some tough trials, and I spent a lot of time praying for them this week. I have also been giving thanks for my many blessings and my good health. I am also very happy with the various small projects I have done around my home this week. When you declutter and make things look nice in your home, it naturally makes you feel happy. My house is NOT perfect. We live in it. We have things that we use all the time that other people might call clutter. If I use it daily, I don’t consider it clutter if it is on my counter.

Our school week has been great as well. We have learned about Israel, and we have enjoyed discussing the economics and politics of modern-day Israel. We also studied the following topics:

Map (globe, ancient map, modern map, Google Earth view)
Demographics (Did you know 97% of Israeli’s are literate?)
Language (Arabic and Hebrew)
Flag (Talked about the significance of the Star of David)
Alphabet (Thank you, YouTube!)
Discussed Rosh Hoshanna and had dishes that are served during the celebration
Read about the Wailing Wall (Compared it to Solomon’s Temple, talked about destruction of the Temple, looked at current views of the Temple site, and talked about the Dome of the Rock)
Looked at maps that indicated the land for the 12 Tribes of Israel
Talked about the economics of modern Israel (imports, exports, and currency)
Talked about the 10 most popular tourist sites (watched videos on YouTube)
Listened to Israeli music on YouTube

What I enjoyed most were our discussions about what happened after Bible times and into modern times. Most of our church teaching centers around just the Biblical history, but I think it is important to know the rest of the story leading to current times. We talked lightly about World War II mainly because we have studied it in depth previously.

Next week, we will be studying Japan.

Home:

Make Your Bed (Do this as soon as you get up.)
Get Dressed Down to Your Shoes
Swish and Swipe
Start Your Laundry
Decide on Dinner
Check Your Calendar
Start the Day off with a Shiny Sink. Don’t leave the breakfast dishes sitting.

School:

It’s Friday! Do something fun with your children today.Use Friday as a reward day for a good school week. If you have not done this before, consider it for next week. Give them the goal of what you would like them to accomplish with school next week, and if they meet the goal, then reward them with a fun activity.

Afternoon Routine:

Eat Lunch
Clear off One Hot Spot
Reboot the Laundry
Declutter for 15 Minutes (Be sure to have your children declutter, too.)
Drink Your Water
Zone Focus: Bathroom and one extra room – I accomplished all of my little projects in my master bathroom this week. The boys took care of their bathroom, so today, I am going to focus in another room in my house that needs some attention. I am going to work with the boys to do a 15 minute dash in their bedroom/closet.

Family Fun: Play a game with your children today.

Before Bed: (This starts right after dinner.)

Check the Calendar for Tomorrow
Lay out Your Clothes for Tomorrow (Have your children lay their clothes out, too.)
Put things at your launch pad
Shine Your Sink
Clean Off a Hot Spot
Go to Bed at Decent Hour

Stash and Dash Thursday – Getting Organized

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

When you find out someone is coming to your house, where do you stash things? Today, I want you to go to one of those areas and put the stuff where it belongs. If it does not give you joy, then purge the item. For many of you, your stash and dash place is in your bedroom. So set your timer on your phone for 15 minutes and hit one of those stashed piles. Don’t tear your whole room apart, just get one pile handled. I want you to have peace in your home in every room, and I want to help you hit some of these hot spots that are weighing you down. This counts as your zone work for the day.

Another tactic for deculuttering your home is to involve your children. Work on their habits with them. Teach them to clean up behind themselves. Teach them to care for their bedrooms. Teach them to cook. There are so many life skills that you need to teach your children. Start now.

Set your timer for 15 minutes for the Home Assignment and 15 minutes for the School Assignment

Home:

Make Your Bed (Do this as soon as you get up.)
Get Dressed Down to Your Shoes
Swish and Swipe
Start Your Laundry
Decide on Dinner
Check Your Calendar
Start the Day off with a Shiny Sink. Don’t leave the breakfast dishes sitting.

School:

This week we have been learning about Israel. We have enjoyed some great food such as beef ribs and beef brisket. We also made couscous and a dish with carrots and sweet potatoes. It has been interesting to learn about their climate and economics.

Afternoon Routine:

Eat Lunch
Clear off One Hot Spot
Reboot the Laundry
Declutter for 15 Minutes (Be sure to have your children declutter, too.)
Drink Your Water
Zone Focus: One other room – Work on your stash and dash in your bedroom. Clear one pile.

Before Bed: (This starts right after dinner.)

Check the Calendar for Tomorrow
Lay out Your Clothes for Tomorrow (Have your children lay their clothes out, too.)
Put things at your launch pad
Shine Your Sink
Clean Off a Hot Spot
Go to Bed at Decent Hour

Winsome Wednesday – Getting Organized

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Tami

Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool

The word “winsome” means attractive or pleasing in appearance. Is that how you feel about your home? How can you make it attractive or pleasing to you in appearance? One thing I do is periodically walk from room to room and just look at what is in each one. Does it make me smile to see the room? Are there things in it that do not give me joy? If I were selling the house, how would a potential buyer see it?

Our homes are where we spend a lot of our time. We should enjoy it. We should have joy in our homes. If we are living with a lot of clutter in the house, it is time to let it go. If we are hanging on to things because someone gave it to us, and it does not give us joy. It is time to let it go. If we are holding on to stuff for “one day,” it’s time to let it go. I have spent time each day decluttering. It is so freeing. I have less stuff to clean around when I do my home blessings. I have less stuff to remind the boys to pick up. I have less stuff to steal my joy. Hoarding stuff does not give you joy. It is a joy stealer! God blesses me so much when I let go of stuff. He provides for me every day.

Things do not equal happiness. The quest for acquiring things is a habit. It’s the thrill of the chase. I don’t need that. I want to be surrounded by love and by my family. I do not want to be surrounded by things.

Today is anti-procrastination day. What are you putting off? Don’t put it off any more.

Grocery Shopping and Errand Day – Take your list, pack snacks, and water bottles.

Home:

Make Your Bed (Do this as soon as you get up.)
Get Dressed Down to Your Shoes
Swish and Swipe
Start Your Laundry
Decide on Dinner
Check Your Calendar
Start the Day off with a Shiny Sink. Don’t leave the breakfast dishes sitting.

School:

Since today is errand day, I hope you have scheduled your school day lightly. If today is not you errand day, remember that tip for the day you go out to buy groceries. It’s ok to hit the basics and get your grocery shopping done. Grocery shopping uses a lot of learning skills from math to reading. In my case, it also involves geography for our country study.

Afternoon Routine:

Eat Lunch
Clear off One Hot Spot
Reboot the Laundry
Declutter for 15 Minutes (Be sure to have your children declutter, too.)
Drink Your Water
Zone Focus: Bathroom and one extra room – Clean off a shelf in your bathroom. Throw out things that you do not use. Wipe off the shelf. Just take 5 minutes to do this today.
Errand day: Make your plan for grocery shopping and errands. Pack water bottles and snacks for everyone. Pack up your library books that need to be turned in.

Family Fun: Plan a fun activity while you are out. I am in the habit of checking for free activities that are going on while we are out doing errands.

When you get home from doing errands, have everyone work together to unload and put away everything.